Foldable canopy



Feb. 18, 1964 F. J. MOLTCHAN FOLDABLE CANOPY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 16,. 1961 INVENTORN/ Fl-ara JJ3904TZAM cS TTOE-A/Gf 1 United States Patent 1 3,121,439 FOLDABLE CANOPY Floyd J. Moltehan, RD. 1, Box 415, Canfield, Ohio Filed May 16, 1961, Ser. No. 110,438 6 Claims. (Cl. 1357.1)

This invention relates to a folding canopy, and more particularly to a new and improved frame structure for a folding canopy.

As an overall object, the present invention seeks to provide a folding canopy structure which, when folded, comprises a compact and relatively small, lightweight unit which may be readily transported or stored. At the same time, the structure may be easily erected to provide maximum protection from sun rays and wind. This protection makes the canopy particularly adaptable for outdoor activities such as swimming, camping, fishing, and the like where some sort of temporary shelter is desired.

Another object of the invention is to provide a folding canopy which is a self-contained unit, meaning that it has no loose parts which may become misplaced or lost. Thus, even when the canopy is folded, all of its parts are interconnected so that when it is again assembled, the various parts are certain to be readily available. This, of course, is a distinct advantage over previous assemblies of this type in which the various parts are separable when the structure is collapsed.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved connection for joining the ends of elongated wire members or the like, said connection permitting one member to be disengaged from the other end slipped into a position adjacent the other member for storage while preventing the two members from becoming separated.

In accordance with the invention, the folding canopy comprises a wire frame assembly having a sewed fabric cover that is assembled over the wire frame and secured thereto. The wire frame consists of a plurality of arcuate wire members of circular cross section circumferentially spaced around a centrally-located tie plate assembly at the top of the erected canopy. Each of these arcuate wire members is in the general form of a quadrant of a circle and is fabricated from a lower section and a top section which are held together by a frame joint. As will be seen, the frame joint is such that it will permit one section to be disengaged from the other and slipped into a position adjacent the other section for storage. At the same time, the joint will prevent the two sections from becoming separated. The fabric cover is of sewed sectional construction defining substantially a quarter of a sphere in contour and is provided with sewed hems at its two front edges for the reception of an associated pair of the arcuate wire members, while the other arcuate wire members of the frame are secured to the cover by a plurality of fastening straps.

The foregoing and other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front or elevational view of the folding canopy structure of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the canopy shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III--III of FIG. 1, illustrating the manner in which the fabric cover is secured to the forward wire members of the canopy structure;

FIG. 4 is a top or plan view of the tie plate assembly for the wire supporting members shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the assembly shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a top or plan view of the frame joint for 3,121,439 Patented Feb. 18, 1964 the upper and lower sections of the wire supporting members shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 8 is a side view of the frame joint of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a top view of the end of the lower section of the wire supporting members used in the frame joint of FIGS. 7 and 8;

FIG. 10 is an end view of the configuration shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a top view of the end of the upper section of the wire supporting members used in the frame joint of FIGS. 7 and 8; and

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional View taken along line XII-XII of FIG. 11.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the foldable canopy assembly of the invention comprises a plurality of arcuate wire supporting members 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 circumferentially spaced around a common vertical axis. As shown, the bottom ends of the wire members Iii-18 are pointed as at 21) whereby they may be driven into the ground 22, while the upper ends of the members 1048 are connected to a tie plate assembly, generally indicated at 24.

Referring to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, the tie plate assembly comprises a pair of semi-circular plates 26 and 28, each having a pair of parallel depressed portions or channels 30 and 32 formed therein. The depressed portions 30 and 32 extend more or less radially outwardly from the center of the semi-circular plates 26 and 28, with each pair of depressed portions being adapted to abut the corresponding pair in the other plate. Thus, the plates may be secured together in spaced relationship by means of rivets 34 and 36 which extend through openings provided in the depressed portions. Formed between the abutting portions 30 and 32 is a generally cylindrical cavity 38 adapted to receive the upper end of the wire supporting member 14, substantially as shown.

Circumferentially spaced around the center of the semicircular bottom plate 23 are a plurality of circular holes 10, 12, 14, 16' and 18. The forward ends of the supporting members 1018 are bent at right angles to their main shank portions (i.e., into the plane of the drawing) and are adapted to extend through the holes 1018 in the plate 28, the arrangement being such that each of the supporting members 10, 12, 16 and 18 may pivot about the axis of its associated hole in plate 28. The supporting member 14, however, is fixed in place by virtue of the fact that it is disposed within the cavity 38.

In the forward end of the plates 26 and 28 are a pair of slots 41) and 42 adapted to receive U-shaped lock clips 44 and 46, respectively, which are provided on the supporting members 10 and 18, the arrangement being such that the clips 44 and 46 may be slipped out of the slots 40 and 42 to permit the members 10 and 18 to rotate toward the member 14. Alternatively, the clips 44 and 46 may be slipped into the slots 40 and 42 to lock the members 10 and 18 in the positions shown.

In the manufacture of the device, the plates 26 and 28 will be initially punched or formed to shape the depressed portions 30 and 32. Thereafter, the holes lil-18 will be drilled into the plate 28 and the ends of supporting members 10-18 inserted into the respective holes. Finally, the top plate 26 will be applied over plate 28 and secured thereto by means of rivets 34 and 36. With this arrangement, the supporting members 1018 may be extended to form the frame structure shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 or they may be folded into a position wherein each member is parallel to the fixed supporting member 14. That is, the wire frame members 10 and 12 may be rotated in a clockwise direction as shown in FIG. 4 to a position where they are parallel with wire frame member 14; while the members 16 and 18 may be rotated in a counterclockwise direction to a position where they are parallel with member 14. The folded positions of the wire frame members are shown in dotted outline in FIG. 2 and identified generally at 48. From FIG. 1 it will be noted that each of the wire frame members 1218 is formed from an upper section A and a lower section B, with these sections being poined end-to-end by means of frame joints 50.

Referring to FIGS. 7-12, each of the frame joints 50 is formed by bending the upper end of the lower section B into the configuration shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. This configuration comprises a first straight portion 52 which is offset with respect to the main shank portion of the section, a reversely-bent straight portion 54 which is parallel to portion 52, and a U-shaped portion 56 which interconnects the ends of the portions 52 and 54 at right angles thereto. The free end of portion 54 is curved inwardly as at 58. Spot welded or otherwise securely fastened to the lower end of upper section A (FIGS. 11 and 12) is a sheet metal sleeve 59 having three elongated pockets or channels 60, 62 and 64 formed therein. Pocket 60 receives the lower end of section A and is spot welded thereto as at 65. Pockets 62 and 64, on the other hand, are adapted to slideably receive the portions 52 and 54 shown in FIG. 9.

In initially assembling the unit, the lower end of section B will first be passed through the sleeve 59 before the upper end of section A is secured between plates 26 and 28 in the tie plate assembly. Once this occurs, the sections can no longer be separated since the length of the upper section A from the edges of plates 26 and 28 to the sleeve 59 will be less than that of section B from U-shaped portion 56 to its lower, pointed end, thereby making it impossible for the sleeve to slide over said lower end. The two sections, however, can be telescoped into side-by-side relationship. When it is desired to erect the canopy, the two sections will be pulled in opposite directions. In this process, the upper edge of sleeve 59 will come into contact with the curved portion 58, thereby forcing the portions 54 and 58 to spring inwardly and permit the sleeve to pass. After the sleeve 59 passes over curved portion 58, the two portions 54 and 58 will spring outwardly as in F168. 7 and 8 \to lock the two sections A and B in assembled relationship. To disassemble, the portion 53 is merely pushed inwardly with the thumb, and the sleeve passed over this portion to permit the sections A and B to become telescoped.

Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, the structure formed from the wire frame members 1ti18 is covered with fabric material 66 which forms a generally quarter-sphere in contour. As best shown in FIG. 3, the two front edges of the fabric cover 66 have a sewed hem 68 of sufficient loop or pocket to permit the wire frame members 10 and 18 to pass therethrough. Actually, the hems 68 are formed in two parts on either side of the frame joints 50 to permit the curved portions 53 to be pressed inwardly, whereupon the lower sections B may slide through sleeves 59 in their associated joints t) and into positions where they are adjacent sections A. At the inside seams of the fabric cover 66 are a plurality of straps 70 which receive and position the other wire supporting members 12, 14 and 16 in spaced relationship about the central axis of tie plate assembly 24.

When the frame structure of members 19-18 is fully assembled, its pointed ends 20 will be driven into the ground as shown in FIG. 1. In this position, the frame is locked by the locking clips 44 and 46 on wire frame members and 18 so that the fabric cover 66 is forced into the shape shown. In order to collapse the canopy, the various frame members 1048 will be pulled out of the ground and each curved portion .58 will be pushed inwardly in its associated frame joint 5th, whereupon the section B will be forced upwardly into a position where it is adjacen the e ion A- It will be noted that in this process the lower section of each of the frame members 1048 slides out of its associated lower strap 70, or the lower portion of the hem 68, thereby allowing the lower half of the fabric cover 66 to be folded or doubled over its upper half. Thereafter, the lock clips 44 and 46 on frame members It) and 18 will be slipped out of slots 40 and 42 in the plates 26 and 28, whereupon members 10 and 12 will be rotated in a clockwise direction while members 16 and 18 will be rotated in a counterclockwise direction into the folded position generally indicated at 48 in FIG. 2. Finally, a tie strap 71 on the hem encircling the member 13 will be wrapped around the folded canopy in much the same manner as an umbrella tie strap. To assemble the canopy, the foregoing procedure is, of course, repeated in reverse. Pockets 72 are sewed to or ottherwise securely fastened, as by snaps, to the bottom of cover 66, and these pockets are open at the top to receive ballast which prevents the pointed ends 20 from being pulled out of the ground by the wind.

Although the invention has been shown in connection with a certain specific embodiment, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes in form and arrangement of parts may be made to suit requirements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a foldable canopy, a frame structure comprising a plurality of arcuate wire members of circular cross section circumferentially spaced around a common axis with the radii of curvature of the wire members intersecting said axis, each of said arcuate members being substantially the quadrant of a circle and being formed of two sections, means for detachably joining said sections comprising a sleeve secured to an end of one of said'sections and defining a first socket coaxial with said one section and a pair of open-ended sockets parallel to and communicating with said first socket, the other of said sections having an end provided with a reversely-bent portion to define a pair of parallel portions with the reversely-bent portion being spring biased away from the other portion, the arrangement being such that the one portion may be pressed toward the other to permit the portions to enter said pair of parallel sockets in the sleeve, whereupon the pressure on the reversely-bent portion may be released to securely hold said sections in end-to-end assembled relationship.

2. The combination claimed in claim 1 and including a curved portion on the reversely-bent portion to prevent the two sections from telescoping when the two portions are in said parallel sockets.

3. In a foldable canopy, a frame structure comprising a pair of semi-circular parallel plates, means connecting said plates in spaced relationship with the plates. being superimposed one above the other and with the axes of the semi-circular plates coincident, a plurality of apertures in one of said plates, a first arcuate wire member, means for securing one end of said first wire member between said plates midway between the ends of the semicircles defined by the plates, a plurality of arcuate wire members each having an end with a first portion extending through an associated one of said apertures and a second portion disposed at right angles to said first portion and positioned between the plates, a radially-extending slot in the circumference of at least one of said plates, and'a locking clip slideably received on at least one of said arcuate wire members and having a projection thereon adapted to fit into said slot to lock said one wire member in place about the circumference of the plates, the arrangement being such that the wire members may be folded into a bundle wherein they are all parallel to said first-mentioned wire member or circumferentially extended around the parallel plates to form a frame for a canopy with at least said one wire member being locked in position by said clip.

4. In a foldable canopy, a frame structure comprising a pair of semi-circular parallel plates, means connecting said plates in spaced relationship with the plates being superimposed one above the other and with the axes of the semi-circular plates coincident, a first arcuate wire member, means for fixedly securing one end of said first Wire member between said plates midway between the ends of the semi-circles defined by the plates, a plurality of arcuate Wire members each having an end sandwiched between said parallel plates and rotatable about an axis extending parallel to the axes of said semi-circular parallel plates whereby the latter-mentioned wire members may be folded into a bundle wherein they are all parallel to said first wire member or circumferentially extended around the parallel plates to form a frame for a canopy, radially-extending slots in the ends of the circumferential portions of said semi-circular plates, and locking clips on the wire members at the opposite ends of said bundle, said locking clips having projections thereon adapted to fit into said slots and hold said wire members at the opposite ends of the bundle in place at the ends of the circumferential portions of said plates.

5. In a foidable canopy, a frame structure comprising a pair of semi-circular parallel plates, each of said plates having a pair of substantailly radially extending depressed portions provided therein midway between the ends of the semi-circle which it defines, said depressed portions being spaced apart, means securing said plates in spaced relationship with the bottoms of the depressed portions on one plate abutting the bottoms of the depressed portions of the other plate, a first arcuate wire member having an end sandwiched between said plates in the space defined between the respective pairs of abutting depressed portions, a plurality of apertures in one of said plates circumferentially spaced around an arc having an axis coincident with axes of said plates and a radius less than the radius of said one plate, and a plurality of arcuate wire members each having an end with a first portion extending through an associated one of said apertures and a second portion disposed at right angles to said first portion and positioned between the plates, the arrangement being such that the latter-mentioned wire members may be folded into a bundle wherein they are all parallel to said first Wire member or circumferentially extended around the parallel plates to form a frame for a canopy.

6. The combination claimed in claim 5 and including radially extending slots provided in the circumference of at least one of said plates, and clips slideably received on at least some of said arcuate wire members and having projections thereon adapted to fit into said slots whereby the arcuate wire members having clips thereon will be locked in a circumferential position about the axes of the parallel plates.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 609,553 Lloyd Aug. 23, 1898 1,649,324 Raber Nov. 15, 1927 1,775,145 Tennant et a1. Sept. 9, 1930 2,159,309 Betourne May 23, 1939 2,652,845 ONeill et al Sept. 22, 1953 2,683,507 Coven et al. July 13, 1954 2,783,766 Kohlbeck Mar. 5, 1957 2,969,075 Girten Jan. 24, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 246,596 Great Britain Feb. 4, 1926 

1. IN A FOLDABLE CANOPY, A FRAME STRUCTURE COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF ARCUATE WIRE MEMBERS OF CIRCULAR CROSS SECTION CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED AROUND A COMMON AXIS WITH THE RADII OF CURVATURE OF THE WIRE MEMBERS INTERSECTING SAID AXIS, EACH OF SAID ARCUATE MEMBERS BEING SUBSTANTIALLY THE QUADRANT OF A CIRCLE AND BEING FORMED OF TWO SECTIONS, MEANS FOR DETACHABLY JOINING SAID SECTIONS COMPRISING A SLEEVE SECURED TO AN END OF ONE OF SAID SECTIONS AND DEFINING A FIRST SOCKET COAXIAL WITH SAID ONE SECTION AND A PAIR OF OPEN-ENDED SOCKETS PARALLEL TO AND COMMUNICATING WITH SAID FIRST SOCKET, THE OTHER OF SAID SECTIONS 